Rare show of unity good for veterans

Published: Friday, June 20, 2014 at 12:37 PM.

We often comment at the intense partisanship in today’s politics, especially on the national level. It’s only partial hyperbole to say that Democrats and Republicans will be trying to rip each other’s lungs out for the next five months in the battle for control of Congress.

That’s why something that should be commonplace in a functioning democratic republic — opponents uniting with urgency to deal with a serious issue — drew headlines last week.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate both passed bills aimed at easing the plight of military veterans who have faced intolerable wait times in receiving VA health care.

They followed the release of a government audit that showed the scope of the problem:

n• More than 57,000 veterans who have entered the VA medical system have waited 90 days or longer for their initial appointments.

n• Even more troubling, 64,000 veterans who enrolled in the system over the last decade and sought appointments never got them.

The audit was triggered by reports in April of long patient waits and falsified records throughout the VA network, with the spotlight on a hospital in Phoenix where veterans allegedly died while awaiting treatment.

We often comment at the intense partisanship in today’s politics, especially on the national level. It’s only partial hyperbole to say that Democrats and Republicans will be trying to rip each other’s lungs out for the next five months in the battle for control of Congress.

That’s why something that should be commonplace in a functioning democratic republic — opponents uniting with urgency to deal with a serious issue — drew headlines last week.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate both passed bills aimed at easing the plight of military veterans who have faced intolerable wait times in receiving VA health care.

They followed the release of a government audit that showed the scope of the problem:

n• More than 57,000 veterans who have entered the VA medical system have waited 90 days or longer for their initial appointments.

n• Even more troubling, 64,000 veterans who enrolled in the system over the last decade and sought appointments never got them.

The audit was triggered by reports in April of long patient waits and falsified records throughout the VA network, with the spotlight on a hospital in Phoenix where veterans allegedly died while awaiting treatment.

We said at the time that a bipartisan effort was needed to assess what was going on, with absolutely zero concern about who would benefit politically. That appears to be happening. The House bill passed without opposition, the Senate bill with only three dissenting votes.

One of those was Alabama’s Jeff Sessions, who decried it as “a blank check” to spend billions. The Senate bill actually does carry a higher price tag, as it would authorize the VA to add new facilities and doctors.

That may not be in the final, compromise bill, which members of Congress hope to get to President Barack Obama by the end of the month. If it is, however, we challenge anyone to look a veteran in the eye and say that’s wasteful spending. We see it as compensation for services rendered.

Besides, there’s unanimity on the most important goals:

n• Veterans who live more than 40 miles from a VA clinic or who have had to wait a long time for appointments can see local doctors instead, with the VA picking up the tab.

n• The Veterans Health Administration, which controls VA hospitals, would be subject to independent performance assessments.

That would ease the immediate problem, the wait times, while also providing more oversight to catch and fix such situations before they get out of hand.

We also hope it’s a lesson to the hard-heads in Congress. No one expects you to be what you aren’t, but it’s OK to collaborate occasionally on the people’s business.

A version of this editorial first appeared in the Gadsden Times, a Halifax Media Group newspaper.